Written
Tibetan – Spanning Time

(Thonmi
Sambhota in Thrangu Monastery in Kham, Tibet.)

A major contribution to the cultural
heritage of Tibet occurred when King Songtsen Gampo had a written script for
the Tibetan language invented to unify the Tibetan people inhabiting the land
between Bactria and Han China and between Nepal and East Turkestan. He also
may have wanted to rule over Zhang Zhung, the ancient province with its capital
near Mt. Kailash (Ti-se). King Songtsen Gampo welcomed Buddhism to Central
Tibet through the influence of his Chinese and Nepali wives, who – it is recorded
– persuaded him to wear silk instead of sheepskin. According to accounts,
King Songtsen Gampo sent his trusted minister Thonmi Sambhota (the “Good Bhota”
or “Tibetan” who was born approximately 610 in Yorwo Lunggu) to Khotan to
find a script and grammar that would suit the language of Central Tibet.

Khotan was the flourishing Buddhist
Kingdom on the Silk Road that ran along the southern edge of the Taklamakan
Desert in the Tarim Basin. The Swedish geographer Sven Hedin discovered the
buried city of Khotan in the 1890s. The Buddhist sites between Khotan and
Dunhuang were excavated during four expeditions between 1900 and 1930 by the
Hungarian archaeologist Sir Mark Aurel Stein, who noticed the early ties between
the Kushan Dynasty (or Indo-Scythians), whose capital was near Bamian, and
the inhabitants of Khotan. Stein also found evidence in both the 7th
century writings of Hsuan-tsang and old Tibetan texts that Khotan had been
conquered and colonized about 200 B.C. by immigrants from Taxila in the Hindukush.
Hsuan-tsang learned from early accounts that many chieftains from Taxila founded
a kingdom in the Tarim Basin. They were the people, he reports, who introduced
Buddhism to Khotan. He wrote, “What land there is, is suitable for regular
cultivation and produces of fruits. The manufactures are carpets, haircloth
of a fine quality, and fine-woven silken fabrics. Moreover, it produces white
and green jade. (…) They have knowledge of politeness and justice. (…) They
love to study literature and arts. (…) The country is renowned for its music.”[1] Khotan’s success was dependent upon China, trade along
the Silk Road, and the proliferation of Buddhism. It suffered greatly when
all three declined. In the 10th century the Tang Dynasty in the
east and invasions by Arabs in the west weakened the region. While the east-west
trade continued, the once flourishing Buddhist shrines were destroyed by the
Islamic culture.

East of Tibet, the oldest caves of Dunhuang
date back to the 4th century A.D. It is said that a Buddhist monk
had a vision of 1000 Buddhas and began carving grottoes into the sandstone
cliff and to fill them with Buddhist images at the edge of what are called
the Dunes of Singing Sands, “Mingsha Shan” in Chinese. Over the next
thousand years, hundreds of similar caves were cut into the same rock face.
One cave contained a sealed library whose contents reflect contacts with early
major Buddhist centres of both Central Asia and the Chinese empire. Dunhuang
began to decline in the 12th century. Jeanne Lasen formulated the
remarkable discoveries in her book Silk Road: “In some of the caves
rest the fruits of human effort to render in two dimensions a universe made
up of four: (…) written words. Some are Sanskrit, some in Chinese, Tibetan
or Uigur or Nepalese or Persian with Hebrew letters. This welter of words
marks silk, leather, palm leaves from the very homeland of the Buddha , paper
made of bamboo pulp and mulberry bark.”2

Another flourishing centre of Buddhism
east of Tibet was the Tangut Kingdom, slightly west of Dunhuang. The people
spoke a language similar to Tibetan but created their script based on Chinese.
In the 13th century the Mongolian ruler invaded the Tangut Province
and encouraged the conversion to Islam, which brought the end of Buddhism
and the northern Silk Road.

Latri Khenpo Nyima Dakpa wrote,3“The Bon religion has existed in this
world for 18,000 years. Yungdrung Bon originated as the teaching of Tonpa
Shenrab in Olmo Lung Ring (an enlightened realm). From there the teachings
spread to Zhang Zhung and from there throughout most Asian lands.” The assassination
of Emperor Ligmincha of Zhang Zhung at the end of the 8th century
by King Trisong Detsen “(…) ended Zhang Zhung’s independence. Thereafter,
Zhang Zhung’s land and culture were assimilated into Tibet, and they eventually
disappeared.” Latri Khenpo continued, “The Zhang Zhung language had three
different scripts. (The) Tibetan script was derived from the Zhang Zhung mar
yig scripts. Many Tibetan and western scholars believe that there was no written
language before the time of Songtsen Gampo (…). Bon scholars do not accept
this view, holding that its proponents have not adequately researched the
early origins or the Tibetan language and the history of Tibet.” Furthermore,
“Bon practitioners were typically given the choice of converting from Bon
to Buddhism, leaving Tibet, or being put to death.” Latri Khenpo also tells
us, “Most of the Bon teachings have been translated from the Zhang Zhung language
into Tibetan.” In early times, the Kingdom of “Zhang Zhung was the closest
neighbouring land to Tibet, extending from what is known today as the upper
part of north-western Tibet, through parts of Nepal and Northern India (Kashmir,
Ladakh, Zamskar, Kinnaur, Spiti, etc.) to Pakistan (Kashmir) and China (the
Karakoram area).”4 In the
website about Dieter Schuh’s microfilm collection of Bonpo texts published
by the Nepal German Project on High Mountain Archaeology in 2001, Karl-Heinz
Everding points to the fact that Bon is a neglected field in Tibetan studies
and writes that its “(…) doctrinal treatises, ritual texts, chronicles and
biographies of important scholars, to mention only a few important branches
of its vast literature, remain for the most part still unexplored. Since large
parts of its literature are available only with great difficulty, the collection
of Bon po texts, microfilmed by Dieter Schuh during his visit to the Bon po
monastery of sMan ri, Doljani (India), in 1969 is of special importance. The
unique scholarly significance of these films is that they maintain the manuscripts
in exactly the state in which they arrived from Tibet.”5

It is said that in order to find a script
and grammar that would suit the language of Central Tibet and unite the empire,
Thonmi Sambhota (approx. 610-650 A.D.) travelled from Yarlung in Central Tibet
through Kashmir in the west to reach Khotan. When he arrived, he learned that
Master Li Byhin (Li the Tibetan term for “Khotan”) was in Kashmir,
so he had to undertake the tedious journey back to meet him there. Orthographic
analysis reveals that the Tibetan alphabet actually follows features distinctive
to Kharosthi, which is derived from the Indian Upright Gupta script. Alexander
Berzin points out that historical accounts mistake the place of composition
by claiming that Tibetan is based on the Kashmiri alphabet.6

King Songtsen Gampo used the new script
for the translation of a Sanskrit Buddhist text that the kings of Yarlung
had received from India centuries earlier. The main translations were of astrology
and medical texts. Furthermore, the king needed a written language to send
military messages to his armies in the fields and to record own oral traditions.
During the reign of the next emperor, Tibetans began to import and translate
select Buddhist texts. Yet, it was only through the power of King Trisong
Detsen, the spiritual presence of Padmasambhava, and the vast knowledge of
Shantarakshita that Buddhism became the national religion.

In the introduction to the Tibetan-English
Dictionary, Sarat Chandra Das quotes H.A. Jaeschke, who had also written
a Tibetan-English dictionary in 1881: “His (Thonmi Sambhota’s) invention of
the Tibetan alphabet gave two-fold impulses: for several centuries the wisdom
of India and the ingenuity of Tibet laboured in unison and with the greatest
industry and enthusiasm at the work of translation. The tribute due to real
genius must be accorded to these early pioneers of Tibetan grammar. They had
to grapple with infinite wealth and refinement of Sanskrit; they had to save
the independence of their own tongue, while they strove to subject it to the
rule of scientific principles, and it is most remarkable how they managed
to produce translations at once literal and faithful to the spirit of the
original.”7

In the 8th century Vairocana
Lotsawa, born in the sNye-Mo area and known as “one of the seven gifted monks
of Samye” was sent to India by Padmasambhava to bring teachings to Tibet.
Later he supervised translations of Buddhist texts on a large scale.8 David Snellgrove and Hugh Richardson note
that the number of monks in the monasteries of Eastern Tibet were quite small
and wrote, “(…) there is similar evidence from Central Tibet, where the traditional
number of original ordinands was just seven, and where a stone pillar recording
the foundation of a temple at lCang-bu (in sTod-lung) by the
noble family of Tshes-pong mentions provision for only four monks.”9

The Tibetan script is sacred since it
was created for the translation of Buddhist texts. Several alphabets developed;
two principal types are the block letters known as U-chen (“with head”)
and U-med (“without head”). The first is used in books and printed
documents, the latter for more worldly matters. Gyud-yig is the cursive
script and Bam-yig the script used for book titles. The Ranjana
script for the Kalachakra monogram is a stylised version of the Indian Lantsa
script. Lantsa is reserved for sacred texts that line both walls and
pillars in temples.

The Tibetan alphabet consists of 30
basic consonants, with the vowel a inherent to each, and four vowels
on the Sanskrit model for i, u, e, and o. Now a monosyllabic
language, most words are spelled with a complexity of initial consonants as
fixed in the times of the early kings and were presumably once pronounced,
e.g. bsgrubs (“established”) is pronounced in the dialect of Central
Tibet, simply trub. Remembering that a is inherent to every
consonant in question, aggs (“refuted”) is pronounced gag. When
an n, l, d, or s follow a letter that isn’t marked by an i,
o, u, ore, then the other vowels become umlaut, e.g. rgyl is
pronounced gyael (“victorious”), spun is pronounced puen
(“brother”), skd is pronounced kae (“language”), sdug.bsnl
is dug-nael (“suffering”), brgyd is gyae (“eight”), examples
that illustrate the difference between the way words are spelled and pronounced.
A Tibetan saying goes, “Half of the words are read by implication.” The advantage
of maintaining the written form is that once sufficiently skilled in reading,
it is easy to decipher texts on stone pillars and manuscripts that date back
as far as the 8th century.

The vast literature of Tibet was meticulously
translated with immense accuracy and comprises all Buddhist religious works
of India, including the great collections of the Kangyur, “The Translation
of Lord Buddha’s Words,” and Tengyur, “The Translations of Teachings.”
The Kangyur is a collection of Sanskrit classics that trace their origin
to the spoken word of Buddha Shakyamuni and contains over 1000 books in about
100 volumes of woodblock prints. The Tengyur is a collection of approximately
3,500 books written mostly in Sanskrit during the period from about 200–1000
A.D., texts that explain the books of the Kangyur and other subjects
such as literature, linguistics, science, architecture, painting, and medicine.
The Tengyur also includes the entire section of the Madhayamaka
and Cittamatrin, Prajnaparamita and Pramana philosophies,
Vinaya as well as the Abhidharmakosha (which was written by
Vasubhandu in the 4th century A.D.), along with extensive explanations.
Unlimited editions were translated from Tibetan into Mongolian, Manchurian,
and Chinese, evidence that Tibetan was “the lingua franca of Higher
Asia”10 and that Tibetan scholars
generously took part and encouraged an enriching dialog with both neighbours
and friends.

Tibetan is an ergative language that follows the subject-object-verb
order.11 Spoken
Tibetan - today an extremely endangered language - is divided into three registers:
Phal-skad (the vernacular speech); Shes-sa (the respectful style
spoken particularly in the area of Lhasa, in the meantime called “the high
dialect or Lha-sa”); and Chos-skad (the literary style for scriptures
and classical works). There are several dialects: dBus spoken in Central
Tibet; gTsang in the area of Gyantse and Shigatse; Khams in
Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan; Amdo in the area of Qinghai;rDzong-kha is the language of Bhutan;
Shar-pa is spoken by the Sherpas who live in north-east Nepal; Lo-skad
is the dialect spoken in Mustang.

King
Songtsen Gampo & the Ramoche Lhakhang

(Songtsen Gampo, statue in Jobo Lhakhang in Lhasa)

King Srong-brtsan-sgam-po (born approx. 609 and
died 650)1 succeeded the throne of
his father gNam-ri-slong-mtshan around 627 A.D. as the 33rdruler of Yarlung and founder of the Tubo Dynasty.2 The Yarlung Empire stretched
from the borders of Bactria to those of Han China and from Nepal to the borders
of East Turkestan. He is credited for the first transmission of Buddhism to
Tibet. His grandson, Myang-mang-po-rje, expanded the Tibetan territory through
the plains of India to the frontiers of China and Zhang Zhung. Berzin wrote,
“In order to stabilize political alliances and his own position of power,
Songtsen-gampo married princesses first from Zhang-zhung and then, late in
his reign, from Tang China and Nepal. After wedding the Zhang-zhung princess,
he had her father, Lig-nyihya (Lig-myi-rhya), the last Zhang-zhung
king, assassinated. This allowed the focus of native ritual support of the
imperial cult to shift to himself and his rapidly expanding state.”3

Songtsen Gampo took Princess Bhrikuti Devi from
Nepal as wife. Her father, Anshuvarrnan, was king of the Licchavi Kingdom,
which existed in the Kathmandu Valley from about 400-750. She is said to have
converted him to Buddhism, and the marriage helped establish Buddhism as the
state religion. Songtsen Gampo built the Jokhang Temple, then called Rasa
‘phrul-snang in Tibetan, “magical apparition of Rasa (the old name
for Lhasa),” to house the Akshobhya Buddha she brought as dowry, the reason
why the main gate faces westward to Nepal. Queen Bhrikuti Devi is known as
Pelsa, “Land of Wool (referring to Nepal),” in Tibetan.

Having been refused Princess Wengcheng Kongjo
as bride in 634, he attacked and defeated the people who lived around Lake
Koko Nor in Amdo and was therefore able to control major trade centres along
the northeastern Silk Road into China. After a successful campaign against
China in 635, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty agreed to the marriage and
thus friendship with China was stable.4 Princess
Wengchen left her homeland to marry King Songsten Gampo in 640 and arrived
a year later. She is said to have converted him to Buddhism too, and the marriage
firmly established Buddhism as state religion. The Ramoche Temple in Lhasa
was constructed due to her efforts to house the Jobo Buddha she brought as
dowry, the reason why the main gate faces eastward to China. Queen Wengchen
is known as Gyasa, “Expansive Land (referring to China),” in Tibetan.

(King Songtsen Gampo and his
wives,

Queen Bhrikuti Devi from Nepal
to his left, Queen Wengcheng Kongjo from China to his right;

statues in the Jokhang in Lhasa)

Both queens were Buddhists and therefore changed
the course of Tibetan history. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche wrote, “Songtsen
Gampo’s two queens can be credited for a great part of his cultural awareness.
Bhrikuti (…) brought the traditions of Himalayan Buddhism. Princess Wengchen
(…) brought a treasure trove of ancient Chinese wisdom. She travelled across
the steppes to her husband with a collection of Chinese classic literature
and texts on sacred astrology, geomancy, and medicine.

“Many obstacles lay in Princess Wengchen’s path
as she headed to Yarlung. She had a vision of a gargantuan demoness who lay
sprawled across the Himalayas, so large that one limb lay in Paro, Bhutan
and another lay in Western Tibet. When she arrived in Yarlung, she shared
her vision with her new husband. Recognizing the value of the treasures that
his bride brought to him, as well as the importance of her vision, King Songtsen
Gampo commissioned thirteen demoness-subjugating temples across the land,
built over the demoness’ vital organs, ankles, wrists, and torso, forever
binding her from wreaking havoc. The Lhasa Jokhang was built over her heart
centre, where it still resides. Other such temples are Trenduk Lhakhang in
Tsetang and Paro Kyichu in Butan.”5 Berzin
wrote, “(…) it is difficult to ascertain what level of Buddhist teachings
and practice were introduced. It was undoubtedly very limited, as would have
been the case with the Zhang-zhung rites.”6

One may not neglect the small temple that Princess
Wengchen erected before she arrived at the Imperial Court in Yarlung. The
small temple is situated approx. 10km away from the Thrangu Monastery in the
Yushu County of Kham in East Tibet, home of the source of the three Asian
rivers, the Yellow River (called Hwang-Ho in Chinese), the Yangtze Kiang,
and the Mekong. The Thrangu Monastery has thrived over a thousand years; the
Wengchen Temple is more than 1300 years old. Both have been the source for
the spread of Buddhism in Kham and especially of the Karma Kagyu teachings.
The very auspicious place is indeed situated in a pure land where emanations
of Amitabha Buddha and Nagarjuna have manifested.

King Songtsen Gampo had Buddhist temples built
around geomantic sites in Tibet and Bhutan but did not found monasteries.
Berzin wrote that „(...) the major one was constructed eighty miles from the
imperial capital, at the site that later became known as ‘Lhasa’ (Lha-sa,
The Place of the Gods). At that time, it was called ‘Rasa’ (Ra-sa,
The Place of the Goats). Western scholars speculate that the Emperor was persuaded
not to build the temple near the capital so as not to offend the traditional
gods.7 It is unclear who manned these Buddhist
temples, but presumably they were foreign monks. The first Tibetan monastics
did not ordain until nearly a century and a half later.”8 Berzin continued, “Further evidence of
Songtsen-gampo’s policy of using foreign invention to boost his political
power is his adoption of a written script for the Tibetan language. Taking
advantage of Zang-zhung’s long history of cultural and economic relations
with Khotan, Gilgit, and Kashmir, the Emperor sent a cultural mission, led
by Tonmi Sambhota (…) to the region.”9 Khyentse
Rinpoche, “No Tibetan translations of the Buddhist scriptures existed and
it was Songsten Gampo who instructed his minister Thonmi Sambhota to travel
to India, study Sanskrit, and develop a Tibetan script. He then commissioned
the translation of several thousand texts.”10

Khyentse Rinpoche tells us, “As a reminder of
the great empire that Songtsen Gampo ruled, a large pillar still stands before
the Potala in Lhasa, erected during his reign, on which is inscribed the agreement
between the Tibetan and Chinese rulers to respect each other’s borders. He
studied Chinese, became skilled in the art of leadership, and most importantly,
he adopted sacred codes of conduct from Buddhist scripture. Under his rule,
sacred practices began to replace the shamanistic practices (…).” He continued,
“Songtsen Gampo meditated for several years in a cave that is now at the core
of Potala palace.”11

(Stone
pillar erected by Songtsen Gampo in front of the Potala Palace

that
records services, victories, and rewards)

King Songtsen Gampo died in 650. He played a decisive
role by introducing Buddhism to Tibet, which explains why he is revered so
deeply and is considered a human emanation of Avalokitshvara.12

The following
oath indicates the strength and stability of royal authority at that time:

Never will we be faithless to King Song-tsen-gam-po,
to his sons and his descendants!

Never ever at any time will we be faithless to
the King and his offspring,

whatever we do!

Never will we seek other overlords among other
men!

Never will we interfere with food and mix poison
with it!

Never will we address the first word to the King!

If one of our offspring, male or female, acts
faithlessly,

never will we not confess that such
a one is faithless!

Never shall our sons befriend those who are faithless!

If we perceive that anyone else is faithless to
the King, never will we not confess it!

Never shall there be calumny or envy towards our
comrades who are without fault!

Ramoche
Lhakhang

(Ramoche Lhakhang, now renovated,
was built at the same time as the Jokhang)

Ramoche Lhakhang was erected by King Songtsen
Gampo to house both the Akshobhya Buddha that Princess Bhrikuti Devi brought
to Tibet when they married in 632 and the Jobo Buddha that Princess Wengchen
brought when they married in 641. Legend says that the work completed on the
temple each day was mysteriously undone each night, until the demoness who
exerted negative influences was appeased. It is said that after her husband’s
death Queen Wengchen took the sacred Jobo out of Ramoche Lhakhang and hid
it from an impeding Chinese invasion in the Jokhang, where it is today and
remains the most venerated and visited shrine in Tibet. She buried the Akshobhya
Statue outside the city walls.

Khyentse Rinpoche
praises the king with these words, “Without Songtsen Gampo there would be
no Tibetan alphabet, Lhasa would have no Jokhang, and the supreme demoness
of Central Tibet might still be roaming the earth unfettered. (…) Through his enlightened leadership,
the path was cleared for the dharma to be propagated throughout the provinces,
and for Buddhism to flourish.”14

The Jokhang in Lhasa

After
the age of vacuity had elapsed at the end of the previous age,

Winds
arose from the ten directions, creating a configuration in the shape of a
cross;

Rain fell
from a cloud, and amidst a mass of water,

A thousand
lotuses were seen; thus the Fortunate Age was proclaimed.

--
Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye the Great

(Prayer wheel in the Jokhang
in Lhasa)

The government of Tibet under the first
auspices of Buddhism was established by the Yarlung Dynasty of kings, who
ruled from approximately 600 until 835. The first kings of a united Tibet
needed to clearly lay down laws to stabilize the country and promote mutual
interests and shared concerns. It has been noted that the ancient Zhang Zhung
Kingdom had a written script, but no national language existed before the
time of King Songtsen Gampo. A written language was essential to unify the
people who inhabited the land between Bactria and Han China and between Nepal
and East Turkestan. Therefore Songtsen Gampo (the 32nd or 33rd
king of the early period who lived approx. 609-650) sent his trusted minister
Thonmi Sambhota (born approx. 610) to an expert on literary language to invent
a Tibetan alphabet and grammar. As Sambhota became more learned in different
scripts, he invented an alphabet that did justice to the many dialects spoken
on the Tibetan plateau. He travelled abroad and worked with Li-byin and with
lHa-rigs-seng-ge and became expert in all treatises on grammar and the five
traditional fields of science that were an integral part of the greater cultures
flourishing at that time - linguistics, logic, philosophy, medicine, and art.
Sambhota returned to Tibet from India with a new alphabet and Mahayana Sutras
and Tantras.1 He composed eight treatises
on Tibetan grammar and writing, only two have survived, the rTags-kyi-‘jug-pa
and the rTsa-ba-sum-cu-pa. Together with the king, “(…) Sambhota translated
twenty-one texts on Avalokiteshvara, the Za-ma-tog-bkod-pa,
the dPhang-skong-phyag-brgya-pa, the ‘Phags-pa-dkon-mchog-sprin,
and the ‘Dus-pa-rin-po-che-rtogs-gzungs.”2
Within a century, large teams of Tibetan translators were working with Indian
and Chinese scholars to translate hundreds of Buddhist texts dealing with
complex philosophies, medicine, astrology, and profound meditation practices.

Both wives of Songtsen Gampo – Princess
Wengchen from China and Princess Bhrikuti Devi from Nepal - were Buddhists
and the marriage with the king encouraged Buddhism as the state religion.
Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche wrote, “Songtsen Gampo’s two queens can be credited
for a great part of his cultural awareness.”3What was the political purpose of these marriages,
though? It certainly helped Tibet establish friendship with its neighbours
and unexpectedly opened doors to vast treasures of knowledge.

Princess Wengchen was the daughter of
Emperor Taizong, “(…) the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty, who ruled China
from 629-649. He encouraged his father (…) to start the uprising that established
the Tang dynasty, and many now consider Taizong to have been the co-founder
of the dynasty. In 630, Taizong’s general (…) conquered the once mighty Eastern
Turkic Khanate and allowed Tang to become the major political and military
power of the region. Accordingly, leaders of bordering tribes convened at
Chang’an the same year and asked for Taizong to take on the title of Heavenly
Khan. Under his reign, the famous rule of Zhenguan was established. At the
time, it was said that there was no need for the people to lock doors at night
and that items left on the road remained untouched by others. The prosperity
of the era and the leadership of Taizong and his renowned officials epitomizes
the peak of traditional rulership that future generations would strive to
emulate.”4 Emperor
Taizong agreed to the marriage of his daughter with the Tubo King in 635;
the marriage took place in 641.

Princess Bhrikuti Devi was the daughter
of King Anshuvarrnan of the Kingdom of the Licchavis. “The Licchavis were
known from earliest Buddhist legends as a ruling family during the Buddha’s
time in India, and the founder of the Gupta Dynasty claimed that he had married
a Licchavi princess. Perhaps some members of this Licchavi family married
members of a local royal family in the Kathmandu Valley, or perhaps the illustrious
history of the name prompted early Nepalese notables to identify themselves
with it. In any case, the Licchavis of Nepal were a strictly local dynasty
based in the Kathmandu Valley and oversaw the growth of the first truly Nepalese
state.

“The earliest known Licchavi record
(…) dates from 464, and mentions three preceding rulers (…). The last Licchavi
inscription was in 733. All of the Licchavi records are deeds reporting donations
to religious foundations, predominantly Hindu temples. The language of the
inscriptions is Sanskrit, the language of the court in north India (…). Politically,
however, India was divided for most of the Licchavi period.

“To the north, Tibet grew into an expansive
military power through the 7th century, declining only by 843.
Some early historians (…) thought that Nepal may have become subordinate to
Tibet for some time, but more recent Nepalese historians (…) deny the interpretation.
In any case, from the 7th century onward a recurring pattern of
foreign relations emerged for rulers in Nepal: more intensive cultural contacts
with the south, potential political threats from both India and Tibet, and
continuing trade contacts in both directions.”5

Princess Wengchen from China brought
the Jobo Buddha as dowry; Princess Bhrikuti Devi from Nepal brought the Akshobhya
Buddha as dowry to the new kingdom on the Tibetan Plateau. They encouraged
Songtsen Gampo to build shrines to house their precious gifts.6 Berzin wrote, “One faction in the Tibetan
imperial court was against Songtsen-gampo’s patronage and reliance on Buddhism.
They were undoubtedly behind his decision for not having a main Buddhist temple
built at the imperial capital or even in the Yarlung Valley.” Therefore the
first Buddhist temples were inaugurated eighty miles from the imperial capital,
at “(…) the site that later became known as ‘Lhasa’ (Lha-sa, The Place
of the Gods). At that time, it was called ‘Rasa’ (Ra-sa, The Place
of the Goats). Western scholars speculate that the Emperor was persuaded not
to build the temple near the capital so as not to offend the traditional gods.”7

Three pilgrimage circuits guide the
devoted pilgrim to the shrine of Jobo Rinpoche. The Lingkhor encircles the
city’s older section, while the Barkhor encloses the Ramoche and Jokhang temples.
Within the Jokhang temple is the Nangkhor, a ritual corridor around the inner
chapels of the sacred site.

(The Barkhor in Lhasa is one
of the holiest areas of Tibet, where pilgrims, monks, and nuns hasten to reach
the temples and visitors buy souvenirs or beautiful goods at the local stands
- robes and hats, religious musical instruments, jewellery, prayer wheels,
or prayer flags.)

The Jokhang Temple

(A golden, eight-spoke Dharma Wheel, flanked by two deer adorns the roof
to the entrance of the Jokhang. The spokes represent the Eightfold Path that
Lord Buddha taught and the deer remind that he first spoke after his enlightenment
in the Deer Park at Sarnath. The walls of the courtyard are lined with hundreds
of votive lamps and are the flickering doorway leading to this holiest site
in Tibet. The first floor has many chapels, each dedicated to a different
Bodhisattva or king. The walls behind the sculptures are covered with murals
which vividly depict the Jataka of Buddhism, the story of acquiring scriptures
in the Western Heaven of Sukavati, as well as Princess Wengchen crossing the
snow-capped mountains on horseback to marry the king.)

The seeds of Buddhism were introduced
to Tibet through the influence of Songtsen Gampo’s two wives. Buddhism became
fully established by King Khri-srong-lde-brtsan, who ruled throughout the
second half of the 8th century, and King Khri-gtsug-lde-brtsan
(Ral-pa-chen), who ruled from approx. 815-836. Until the final eclipse of
Buddhism in India at the end of the 12th century, the Tibetans
were visiting Nepal and India for texts, instructions, and initiations, committing
themselves whole-heartedly by then. The holiest testimony is located in the
centre of Lhasa and was built by King Songtsen Gampo approx. 647.8 David Snellgrove and Hugh Richardson wrote,
“(…) the Jo-khang itself was certainly founded by Srong-brtsan-sgam-po,
for it is specifically mentioned and ascribed to him under its old name ‘Phrul-snang
or Ra-sa in several ancient inscriptions. Also ascribed to him are
the Ra-mo-che and Khra-‘brug chapels, as well as twelve ‘boundary
and limb-binding’ chapels, supposedly built to bind and subdue the anti-Buddhist
demons of Tibet. The authenticity of these traditions has been questioned
by some Western scholars, but if the Jo-Khang is accepted as a seventh
century foundation, there is no good reason to reject the others out of hand.”9

(Jobo Rinpoche)

Pure
are your eyes, broad and beautiful,

like the petals of a blue lotus.

Pure is your thought, having discovered

the supreme transcendence of all trances.

Immeasurable is the ocean of your virtues,

the accumulation of your good deeds.

You affirm the path of peace.

O Great Ascetic, obeisance to you!-- Licchavi Ratnakara

The Jokhang contains the most sacred
shrine of the “Precious Lord,” Jobo Rinpoche, Yeshe-Norbu in Tibetan,
which is one of the most revered images in Tibet. Jobo Rinpoche represents
Buddha Shakyamuni and is believed to have been crafted during his life, when
he was twelve years old, by Vishvamkarma with the guidance of Indra.10 It originally belonged to the King of
Magadha in India.11 He gave
it to Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. His daughter, Princess Wengchen
Kongjo, brought it to Tibet as a present when she married King Songtsen Gampo.

It is said that Princess Wengchen chose
the site of the Jokhang through divination and astrological calculations.
Legend also says that Songtsen Gampo threw his ring into the sky, promising
to build a temple where it landed. The ring fell into a lake and struck a
rock where a white stupa miraculously appeared. The king had the lake filled
with stones and invitede craftsmen from Tibet, Nepal, India, Kashmir, and
China to erect the Jokhang Temple over the pool. Even today, a pool exists
under the main courtyard.

The Ramoche Lhakhang, situated near
the Jokhang, was built to house Jobo Rinpoche; the Jokhang was built to house
the Akshobhya Buddha brought to Tibet by Princess Bhrikuti Devi from Nepal.12It
is said that after her husband’s death, Queen Wengchen took the sacred Jobo
Statue out of Ramoche Lhakhang and hid if from an impeding Chinese invasion
in the walls of the temple that later became known as the Jokhang,
the “Home of Jobo.” Two generations later, the Chinese bride of the 36th
Tibetan King, Me-‘gtsom, enquired about the whereabouts of the Buddha image.
It was found and placed in the shrine of the Jokhang, where it is today and
remains the most venerated and visited shrine in Tibet. The image of the Akshobhya
Buddha originally placed in the Jokhang was buried on the outskirts of Lhasa,
so the images were interchanged after they were found again.

(Inside the Jokhang, the Nangkhor
is a ritual corridor around the inner chapels of the temple.)

The Jokhang has undergone many reconstructions
and additions, especially during the reign of the Fifth Dalai Lama in the
17th century, but it retains a basic lay-out similar to early chapels
and contains very early woodwork, especially the lion beam ends and the carved
capitals of some of its pillars. Snellgrove and Richardson wrote, “(…) business
ventures added greatly to the wealth of the temples and provided a channel
through which cultural and artistic influences might enrich daily life and
thought. Pearls and other precious stones, brocades and richly worked robes,
incense-burners and ritual vessels, gilded bronze and copper images found
their way into the monasteries. (…) One remarkable survival from the period
(of the 14th century) was a great scroll, fifty feet long by two
and a half feet wide, describing in five languages, beautifully written in
gold, the miraculous events of a visit to the emperor by the fifth Karmapa
hierarch. The events are illustrated by panels delicately painted by a Chinese
artist.”13 Tibetan art and architecture
was always inspired by native, Indian, Nepali, as well as Chinese cultures.

(Roof of the Jokhang, toward
the west. The Potala Palace can be seen in the distance.)

Samye Gompa – The First Monastery in Tibet

The
churning of water by wind produced a golden disc,

Upon which rain fell; (this became) the
great ocean.

The churning by wind developed the (ocean’s)
elements

- superior,
medium, and base;

These elements formed Mount Meru, the seven
mountain ranges,

the four continents and the outer rim.

-- Jamgon Kongtrul
Lodro Thaye the Great

(Samye Monastery was built
based on the universe’s structure in the Buddhist cosmology. The main temple
of the mandala represents Mt. Meru, the mythical mountain at the centre of
the universe. Four smaller temples at the corners represent the four continents,
which surround Mt. Meru. The entire monastery is enclosed by an oval wall
topped by small stupas.)

Sarat Chandra Das, who wrote a Tibetan-English
dictionary in 1902, described the first period of Tibetan history as “the
Period of Translations, which may also be entitled the Classical Period, for
the sanctity of the religious message conferred a corresponding reputation
and tradition of excellence upon the form in which it was conveyed. This period
begins in the second half of the seventh century A.D., when Thon-mi Sambhota
(the good Bhota or Tibetan), the minister of King Srongtsen Gampo, returned
to Tibet after studying the Sanskrit language under an eminent Brahman teacher
of Magadha.” Chandra Das continued, “The Classical Period may be divided into
three stages. The first or the earliest stage terminated with the downfall
of the first historical monarchy when King Langdarma fell by the hand of an
assassin.” Chandra Das quoted Jaschke, author of a first Tibetan-English dictionary,
“The second period corresponds with this stage, when ‘Tibetan authors began
to indulge in composition of their own’ and wrote on historical and legendary
subjects.”1
Ken Holmes added, “The threefold power of Trisong Detsen’s royal patronage,
Padmasambhava’s spiritual presence and Abbot Shantaraksita’s vast knowledge
enabled Buddhism to take a firm hold in Tibet. It was declared to be the national
religion, and most importantly, the great monastic complex of Samye was constructed
and the first monks were ordained.”2

(Sogyal Rinpoche wrote, “It
is believed that, on seeing this statue at Samye in Tibet, where it was made
in the 8th century, Padmasambhava exclaimed, ‘It looks like me,’
and then blessed it, saying, ‘Now it is the same as me.’”3)

King Khri-srong-lde-brtsan (Trisong Detsen, 742-798 A.D.) contributed
greatly to establishing Buddhism in Tibet. During his reign, the prosperous
cities along the Silk Road came under Tibetan rule, although the repeated
invasions along the Chinese frontiers were minor conquests. He invited the
Indian Pandit and Bodhisattva Abbot Shantarakshita to Tibet to speak about
dependent origination and the ten virtuous actions and to build the first
monastery at Samye near Mt. Hepori. Shantarakshita was “(…) the founder of
the philosophical school combining Madhyamika and Yogacara.”4 There was a smallpox epidemic at that
time. The conservative faction in the court blamed Shantarakshita and deported
him from the land. On the abbot’s advice, the king invited Padmasambhava,
known as Guru Rinpoche, from Swat, which is situated in the north of Pakistan,
to drive out the spirits who had caused the smallpox. The emperor later asked
Shantarakshita to return, which he did.5
Snellgrove and Richardson noted that “These two teachers represent two rather
different forms of Buddhist practice, the one conventionally academic and
monastic, and the other mystical and ritual.”6

(The stone stupa near Samye Gompa)

Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye wrote, “In this world of Jamudvipa, Guru Rinpoche
is known as just one nirmanakaya who tames beings, but according to the different
capacities and giftedness of people he is perceived in various ways. The history
of the Oral Transmission of Kilaya and most Indian sources explain that he
was born as the son of a king or a minister in Uddiyana; while the terma treasures
for the most part narrate that he was miraculously born. In some texts he
is said to have appeared from a bolt of lightning at the summit of Mount Malaya.
Each of these wondrous stories differs in many ways. This is indeed a topic
that lies far beyond the reach of an ordinary person’s intellect.”7

Sogyal Rinpoche tells us about Padmasambhava, “As Buddha himself was passing
away, he prophesied that Padmasambhava would be born not long after his death
in order to spread the teachings of the Tantras. It was Padmasambhava who
established Buddhism in Tibet in the eighth century.” Furthermore, “For us
Tibetans, Padmasambhava, Guru Rinpoche, embodies a cosmic, timeless principle;
he is the universal master. He has appeared countless times to the masters
of Tibet, and these meetings and visions have been precisely recorded: the
date, the place, and the manner in which they occurred, along with the teachings
and prophecies Padmasambhava gave. He also left thousands of visionary teachings
for future times, which have been revealed again and again by the many great
masters who have been his emanations; one of these visionary treasures, or
termas, is the Tibetan Book of the Dead.”8

Padmasambhava9 was “incarnated
as an 8 year-old child appearing in a lotus blossom on Lake Dhanakosha (…).
The local king who married him to one of his daughters, Mandarava, recognized
his special nature. Padmasambhava’s other main consort, Yeshe Tsogyal, developed
into realized practitioner. Padmasambhava’s ability to memorize and comprehend
esoteric texts in a single hearing established his reputation as a master
above all others. Accused of mystical killing of an evil minister, he was
banished from the court. (…) Trisong Detsen, whose kingdom was beset by evil
mountain deities, knew his fame. The king invited Padmasambhava to Tibet where
he used his tantric powers to subdue the evil deities he encountered along
the way. (…) This was in accordance with the tantric principle of not eliminating
negative forces but instead redirecting them to fuel the journey toward spiritual
awakening. In Tibet he founded the first monastery in the country, Samye Gompa,
and introduced the people to the practice of Tantric Buddhism.”10

(The main
temple at Samye. It is said that Shantarakshita tried to construct the monastery
while promoting the Sutra Tradition. However the building collapsed after
he reached a certain stage. Padmasambhava drove out the spirits of Tibet that
were obstructing the building and overcame the sorcerers. Some deities from
native cults were converted and adopted as Buddhist protectors. Tantric Buddhism
took roots and was declared by King Trisong Detsen to be the state religion.)

(It is not easy dating all images and ritual
objects, but the inscribed bell was installed to honour King Trisong Detsen’s
vow of piety to Buddhism, bearing “(…) a pleasing prayer for the king inscribed
by one of his queens.”11)

Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye tells us, “King Trisong Detsen requested empowerment
and instruction from Padmakara. At Chimbu, the hermitage above Samye, the
great master disclosed the mandala (…) into which he initiated nine chief
disciples including the king. Each of them was entrusted with a specific transmission
and all nine attained siddhi through practicing the respective teaching. Padmakara
gave numberless other profound and extraordinary teachings connected with
the three inner tantras to many destined students headed by the king and his
sons and the twenty-five disciples in Lhodrak, Tidro, and many other places.

“Guru Rinpoche remained in Tibet for 55 years and 6 months; 48 years while
the king was alive and 7 years and 6 months afterwards. He arrived when the
king was 21. The king passed away at the age of 69. Padmakara stayed for a
few years after that before leaving for the land of the rakshas. (…)

“Knowing that a descendant of the king would later try to destroy Buddhism
in Tibet, he gave many predictions for the future. Conferring with the king
and the close disciples, Padmakara concealed countless terma teachings headed
by the 8 personal treasures of the king, the 5 great mind treasures, and the
25 profound treasures. The reasons for hiding these termas were to prevent
the teachings of Secret Mantra to be destroyed, to avoid that the Vajrayana
be corrupted or modified by intellectuals, to preserve the blessings, and
to benefit future disciples. For each of these hidden treasures Padmakara
predicted the time of the disclosure, the person who would reveal them, and
the destined recipients who would hold the teachings.”12 Bodhisattva Shantarakshita could continue
his work and was able to initiate seven monks before he died in 783; they
were Tibet’s first Buddhist monks who gradually established the Noble Sangha
and have come to be known as “The Seven Examined Men.”

Repeated battles took place between Tibet and China. In 783 a peace treaty
was signed which established the boundary between the two countries. Tibetan
military forces were making headway in the west, though. The army advanced
as far as the Pamirs, until the Arabian Caliph, Harun al-Rashid allied himself
with the Chinese. The Tibetans were able to hold their own. Berzin added,
“(…) in 784, a grand persecution and exile of the Bonpos took place. Most
went to Gilgit or Yunnan. According to the traditional Bon account, Zhang-zhung
Drenka-namka buried the Bon texts at this time for safekeeping.”13 Berzin continued, “Historical and political
analysis reveals that the reason for the exile was suspicion that the xenophobic
conservative Zhang-zhung political faction might assassinate the Emperor for
being pro-Indian, as it had done to his father. Moreover, the state kept the
Bon burial rituals and sacrifices. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude
that it was a persecution of the Zhang-zhung political faction, not a persecution
of the Bon religion.”14 It has
been noted that “the very fact that nothing less than the coalition of the
two most powerful empires of the early Middle Ages was necessary for checking
the expansion of the Tibetan state, is a magnificent witness of the political
capacities and military valour of these sturdy mountaineers.”15

(The stele has the text of an edict issued in 779 by
King Trison Detsen proclaiming that

from that time on Buddhism was to be the official religion
of Tibet.)

During this period, Tibet had become ground for differing schools of thought.
King Trisong Detsen therefore followed Khenpo Shantarakshita’s advice and
invited the Indian Pandit Kamalashila to present the Indian Buddhist school
and the famous Chinese Monk Hvashang Mahayana to present the Chan school (Jap.
Zen) in a debate at Samye. The debate lasted from 792-794. It is recorded
that Kamalashila swirled his sleeve around in the air, inferring the question,
“What is the source of samsara?” Hvashang covered his head, indicating that
ignorance is the source of samsara.Kamalashila
won what has become known as “The Great Debate at Samye” and Hvashang had
to leave the country. Thrangu Rinpoche tells us that Kamalashila introduced
the gradual Mahayana path, which is practiced to this day by all lineages
of Tibetan Buddhism. The king asked Kamalashila to compose a text explaining
the stages of meditation. One of the most important texts Kamalashila wrote
is the Bhavana-krama, which delineates krama, “the sequence,”
of meditation practice.

King Trisong Detsen sent Vairocana, one of the seven initiated monks,
to India to search out more teachings. He brought back both Dzogchen and Buddhist
medicine Tantra texts, supervised translations on a large scale, and invited
the Indian Dzogchen Master Vimalamitra to bring more texts. Shortly after
the great debate at Samye, Vairocana “was exiled after Indian abbots slandered
him for revealing too much, so he buried more Dzogchen texts, as did the Indian
Vimalamitra.”16

After signing a peace treaty with China in 821, Emperor Ralpachen “(a
Buddhist fanatic) made the Samye abbot the head of the State Council. He decreed
that seven families support each monk in Tibet. He also formed a council to
authorize terms to be included in a large Sanskrit-Tibetan compendium of translation
terms he commissioned. (…) No tantra terms were included. (…) Most likely
due to the excesses of Emperor Ralpachen, his successor and older brother,
Emperor Langdarma closed monasteries and persecuted monks from 836-842. The
Buddhist libraries and the (…) lay tradition, however, were preserved. The
first buried Bon treasure texts were recovered by accident at Samye in 913.”17 Langdarma was assassinated
in 846, but members of the royal family had fled to West Tibet earlier and
built their castles there. The period of the first recorded kings of Tibet
had come to an end.

Even though you have realized appearances to be
mind,

don’t interrupt conditioned roots of virtue!-- Padmasambhava

Nechung
Gompa

In Tibet, the Land of Snow, Buddhism has flourished
for more than a thousand years. Over three successive centuries, three great
Tibetan kings - Songtsen Gampo, Trisong Detsen, and Tri Ralpachen – each developed
great faith in the teachings of the Buddha and the practice of meditation,
and they established in Tibet the necessary conditions for the spread of the
teachings. Through the succeeding centuries, Tibetans have sustained their
great faith in the Three Jewels and have been able to incorporate the meaning
of the Buddhist Dharma into their daily lives.--
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche1

(Nechung
Gompa, seat of Tibet’s State Oracle until 1949)

Samye Gompa, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet,
was built by both the saint and precious master Padmasambhava as well as the
abbot and scholar Shantarakshita during the rule of King Trisong Detsen (742-798
A.D.).2 At that time, Samye was
called Nechen, which means “the great location.” One of the most accomplished
of the “seven examined men” first ordained at Samye Gompa was Bodhisattva
Vairocana, who saw the smaller site near the capital of Lhasa and called it
Nechung, which means “the smaller location.” He prophesied, “A monastery
will be built here because the small lake and tree nearby are possessed by
Pehar.” Berzin wrote, “The rock mountain behind the monastery has a footprint
of Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava and a naturally formed crossed vajra.”3

The Government of Tibet in Exile wrote of a legend
that there was a monastery known as Tsal-gang-thang on the other side of the
Kyichu River flowing east of Lhasa. A custodian in charge of a shrine in Tsal-gang-thang
got into a feud with the leading spirit Pehar Gyalpo and packed him inside
a box he planned to throw into the river. Lama Chang-chub Palden, caretaker
at Tsal-gang-thang, saw what was happening and commissioned his attendant
to get hold of the box and bring it back, forbidding him to open it. The next
morning the attendant saw the box floating toward him in the river. He seized
it and wanted to carry it back to his Lama, but the box became heavier and
heavier as he neared the monastery. He put it down and, curious to see what
was inside, lifted the lid. A pigeon flew out and disappeared in a nearby
tree. The attendant remembered his master’s words and sighed, “May the Lama
know!” These words were later inscribed on the rock where he placed the box
and can still be seen. The attendant returned to his Lama, told him what happened,
and Lama Chang-chub Palden exclaimed, “It shows that the location is too small
to house this powerful spirit.” Lama built the first monastery there and a
community of monks established Nechung Gompa.4

(With a steady gaze, Padmasambhava’s
right hand holds an upright gold vajra to his heart. His left hand is placed
in his lap and holds a white skull cup filled with nectar, jewels, and a long-life
vase. The Katvanga staff of a Vajrayana master decorated with white streamers
rests against his left shoulder. Adorned with gold earrings and a necklace,
his head is covered with a lotus hat, a gift of the King of Zahor, of silk
brocade topped with a half-vajra, and a single vulture feather. Dressed in
various robes of different colours representing the Vinaya, Bodhisattva, and
Mantra Vehicles, he is often depicted sitting on a sun and moon disc above
a multi-coloured blossom rising from Dhanakosha Lake. “(…) Guru Rinpoche has
numerous forms representing outer, inner and secret aspects. Within the Kama
(Oral) Tradition of the Nyingmapa School, Padmasambhava was born in North
India as the son of a king or minister. In the Terma (Treasure) Tradition,
he was born on a lotus in Dhanakosha Lake as an emanation of Buddha Amitabha.”5)

“Pehar Gyalpo was bound to oath by Padmasambhava
to head the entire hierarchy of protective spirits and Dorje Drakden6 was Pehar’s principal emissary to Tibet.”7It
is said that Buddhism spread extensively with the help of Dorje Drakden during
the reign of both King Trisong Detsen, who ruled throughout the second half
of the 8th century, and his son, Mu-ne-btsan-po, who ruled at the
end of the 8th century.

In the History of the Nechung Monastery
it is stated, “Nechung originally came to Tibet with a descendant of the Indian
sage Dharmapala. Dharmapala is the Sanskrit term for “defender of the
religious law,” translated into Tibetan as Drag-gshed, “cruel, wrathful
hangman.” They are Hindu gods introduced to Tibetan Buddhism by Padmasambhava.
Most monasteries have their own Dharmapala. In iconography, they are depicted
as frightening beings with many heads, hands, or feet and have a fierce expression
with protruding fangs. Nevertheless, they are Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, or Dharmarajas
(Damchen in Tibetan) who embody compassion that manifests in a fierce
way. Damchen were once mountain spirits who were bound under oath to protect
the Dharma by Guru Rinpoche and other Buddhist saints during the transmission
of Buddhism from India to Tibet. The eight Dharmapalas are: Mahakala, Yama,
Yamantaka, Hayagriva, Kubera, Palden Lhamo, Changpa, and Begtse.8 During the reign of King Trisong Detsen,
“Pehar was appointed protector of Samye by (…) Padmasambhava.”9

The story of Pehar can be read in Himalayanart,
summarized: Many eons ago he was born as a prince to Damaraja of Asura country.
Another boy was born as a minister’s son, and they became good friends. Both
young men became monks. Prince Damaraja’s religious name was Dawe Shinu, “riding
the moon,” his friend’s religious name was Tunten Nagpo. Dawe Shinu became
a scholar, who enjoyed teaching Dharma; his friend preferred meditating. One
day Dawe Shinu visited a Hindu Temple where he met a beautiful girl. Strong
desire arose in him and they made love in the temple for an entire week, so
he broke his vows of celibacy. Tunten Nagpo showed up and tried to stop them
but couldn’t. Dawe Shinu was so furious that he turned himself into a lion
and tried to kill his friend for interfering. Vajrapani protected Tunten Nagpo
with his vajra, so nothing more harmful happened.

Dawe Shinu died and was reborn in hell, where
he suffered immensely. After time spent there, he was reborn as a very poor
and homeless human. While wandering around he met his former friend Tunten
Nagpo in another incarnation, but they did not get along. After his death,
Dawe Shinu was born in the family of King Muche Tsampo and Queen Lumo Tongon.
His name was Vajra Kuhe Samati. Again, Tunten Nagpo in a next birth was meditating
in a cave. Vajra Kuhe Samati turned himself into a rat and tried to disturb
his former friend. Again Vajrapani protected Tunten Nagpo.

Then Vajra Kuhe Samate was born as the third of
Dudje Tsempo’s five sons; Dudje was king in the realm of the ancient demons.
Vajra Samate’s name was Mudu Tankhar. Pehar is a reincarnation of Mudu Tankhar.
He has three faces, six arms, and rides a lion. He is known as a king of action.
When Guru Rinpoche and Shantarakshita built Samye Gompa, Guru Rinpoche invited
Pehar to come from his Palace Petahor. Guru Rinpoche gave him a wife, Mentsun
Karmo, as well as a girlfriend. They built a palace for Pehar in the northern
side of Samye Gompa, called Peharchok and known as the Turquoise Palace; it
still exists. Guru Rinpoche invited other deities as well and built many temples
for them around Samye.10
Furthermore, “There are numerous legends concerning the subjugation of Pehar,
however all state that he is not indigenous to Tibet. Oath-bound to protect
the Buddhist teachings by Guru

Padmasambhava, he has since become a Tibetan national
protector, a Dharmapala, predominantly practiced by the Nyingmapa.”11

The principal architect of Nechung Gompa
was the Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682) and the monastery was completed “in honour
of the Oracle in 1683. (…) A number of vessels through which Pehar could be
contacted were moved from Nechen to Nechung”12
- from Samye to Nechung. And “the government held monks of Nechung Gompa responsible
for keeping daily contact with Pehar. Many traditions of rituals were practiced
there, such as the Treasure Doctrine of Nyang Nyima Odzer.”13 Berzin explained this clearly, “The Fifth
Dalai Lama was a great revealer of Nyingma treasure texts. The set of 25 deity
practices of the gSang-ba rgya-can, Bearing the Seal of Secrecy, derive
from his pure visions. The Fifth Dalai Lama (…) introduced them (…) to the
Nechung Monastery (…).” Berzin continued, “The Fifth Dalai Lama (…) took up
the Northern Treasure Text Tradition from Dorjey-drag (Nechung), since the
holders were blood descendants of the great religious kings of Tibet. Guru
Rinpoche Padmasambhava had advised that if this lineage were not supported
and upheld, it would be detrimental to Tibet.”14

Returning to what he summarized as “the threefold power of Trisong Detsen’s
royal patronage, Padmasambhava’s spiritual presence and Abbot Shantarakshita’s
vast knowledge,” Ken Holmes described the situation during these times clearly,
“The early glory of this tradition lasted for some sixty years, until the
hostile (and probably insane) monarch Langdarma destroyed the majority of
its vestiges. Although it did gradually re-establish its monasteries and sangha,
it had to vie at first with the animist religion for influence and then later
with the new lineages (sarma) arising from the work of Atisha, Marpa and other
eleventh century renovators. It was during that period that the tradition
became referred to as the ‘ancient’ (mying.ma) school.”15

1 Rangjung.com/authors/King_Songtsen_Gampo
(2006) states that he lived from 569-650 or 617-650.

2 Alexander Berzin wrote that he was
the 32nd ruler of Yarlung; compare berzinarchieves.com/e-books/historic­­_interaction,
2006.

3 Berzinarchirves.com/e-books/historic_interaction.
Nyima Dakpa wrote that the last king of Zhang-Zhung, Ligmincha, was killed
by the 37th king of Tibet, Trisong Detsen, at the end of the
8th century; see Latri Khenpo Nyima Dakpa, Opening the Door
to Bon, p. 14.

4 The kingdom started waning because
of a power struggle that weakened the Yarlung court and its military presence
along its borders; it arose between Khri-‘dus-srong(approx. 677-704) and his ministers and when
Tibet allied itself with the Eastern Turks against Tang China in 703.

5 Countrystudies.us/Nepal/5, 2006. A
people prior to the Licchavi have been identified as the Kirata. Factbites.com
(2006) notes that “The Licchavi period saw to the flourishment of Hinduism
and Buddhism in Nepal. Excellent examples of Buddhist art of the period
are the half-sunken Buddha in Pashupatinath, the sleeping Vishnu in Budhanilkantha,
the statue of Buddha and the various representations of Vishnu in Changu
Narayan.” The Licchavi dynasty declined in the late 8th century
and was followed by the Newari era.

9 David Snellgrove & Hugh Richardson,
p. 73. Khra-‘brug is located in Yarlung.

10 In the Vedic times,
Indra was the supreme ruler of the gods. “He was the defender of mankind
against forces of evil. He had early aspects of a sun-god, riding a golden
chariot across the heavens, but is more often known as the god of thunder,
wielding the celestial Vajra, the lightning bolt. (…) He shows aspects of
being a creator god, having set order to the cosmos, and since he brought
water to earth, he was a fertility god as well.” Stephen T. Naylor, Encyclopedia
Mythica, in the website of Pantheon.org, 2006. -- “Vishvakarma, the
divine architect and weapon maker (…), is believed to have created the chariots
of the gods. He was the father of Sanjana who married Surya (the solar deity)
but could not bear his splendour. Ultimately, Vishvakarma removed 1/8th
of Surya’s effulgence and created Lord Shiva’s trident, Lord Vishnu’s discus
and other fabulous weapons.” India Heritage, in the website of Indiaheritage,
Sept. 2004.

11 Magadha was one of the four main kingdoms
of India at the time of Buddha Shakyamuni. The core of the kingdom was that
portion of Bihar that lies south of the Ganges, with its capital at Rajagriha.
Buddha was born as a Prince of Kapilavastu in Kosala, which had been annexed
by the Kingdom of Magadha at that time. Therefore Magadha was the scene
of many incidents in his life.

7 Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, Rinchen,
Terdzo, “The Great Treasury of Precious Termas,” vol. 1, translated
by Erik Pema Kunsang, Rangjung Yeshe Publications, Boudhanath, 1990. In
Rangjung.com: “Rinchen Terdzo is a collection of the most important
revealed termas of Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra, Vairotsana and their closest
disciples, gathered by Jamgon Kongtru Lodro Thaye with the help of Jamyang
Khyentse Wangpo. Published in 63 volumes by His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse
Rinpoche, New Delhi, India, with the addition of several more volumes of
termas and commentaries. Khakyab Dorje, the 15th Karmapa, described
it in these words: ‘The great Treasury of Precious Termas is the
quintessence of the ocean-like teachings of the sugatas (buddhas), the profound
Vidyadhara Pitaka of the Early Translation School.’” See the website
of Rangjung.com/authors; especially the book, Lotus-Born: The Life Story
of Padmasambhava. Foreword by His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche,
translated by Erik Pema Kungsang, Rangjung Yeshe Publications, Boudhanath,
2000. (Mt. Malaya in Maghalaya, East India?)

8 Sogyal Rinpoche. See also Sogyal Rinpoche,
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Harper, N.Y., 1993.

9 Padmasambhava (also Padmakara
or Padma Raja, Tibetan Padma Jungne), in Sanskrit meaning
“Lotus Born,” founded the Tantric school of Buddhism in the 8th
century. In Bhutan and Tibet he is known as Guru Rinpoche, “Precious
Master,” where followers of the Nyingma School regard him as the Second
Buddha. The Root Guru in Tantric Buddhism is a spiritual master who has
achieved enlightenment, therefore he or she is a Buddha’s earthly representative.
It is the Root Guru who transmits the Buddha’s teachings, which is the reason
why Tantric Buddhism holds the Root Guru in highest esteem. Describing the
Root Guru as the embodiment of the Three Jewels is logical and appropriate.

13 Concerning the name Drenka-namka,
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche mentioned it and wrote, “The great 8th
century Bon master and sage Dranpa Namkha, father of the Lotus born Guru
Padmasambhava (…) embraced the new religion in public but maintained his
Bon practice and allegiance in private in order secretly to preserve Bon.
He asked the king, ‘Why do you make a distinction between bon and
chos?’ (The word bon for the Bonpos and chos for the
Buddhists both mean ‘dharma,’ or ‘truth’), since he held that in essence
they were the same.” Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, Wonders of the Natural
Mind, Snow Lion Publ., N.Y., 2000, p. 45.